I have been thinking about relating content to a previously understood concept or topic this week. As I was studying this, I wondered how do I, as a teacher, correct misconceptions that students bring into my classroom? I think it is impossible to know every misconception that every student has, so how do I combat this unknown?
As I pondered this question this week I started to realize that I do know many of my students misconceptions that they bring into my class. Most of them I know because they are very common, so point them out in the instruction. But sometimes they are unusual misconceptions. These, I have found, are more difficult to identify. I have found that doing informal assessment has really helped correcting these misconceptions. Simply asking probing questions (and waiting for the answer) is a very helpful tool. If I find many students in a class are making the same mistake, I'm not afraid to go back and correct the problem.
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Jennifer
ReplyDeleteI think you are spot on with your comment about combatting the unknown. As teachers all we can do it ask questions to try and determine prior knowledge or misconceptions. Using informal assessment and probing questions is a great way to quickly find out if students are understanding. I never understood the need for summative assessments. Personally I find the formative assessments are the best indication of student knowledge.
I think you are on the right track in affecting student learning.
I agree that it would be very hard to know every students individual misconceptions. By questioning students and giving informal assessments, I think you are doing a great job! I also like your comment about giving students wait time, I think that sometimes as teachers we forget to allow our students enough time to think and ponder.
ReplyDeleteI also like to try to make connections. I use analogies in and out of my classroom a lot. Analogies are just another way to link new information to prior knowledge. I also think that if we use an analogy that is easy for the students to understand it helps minimize misconceptions. It may also correct some misconceptions without students feeling "stupid" because they gave the wrong answer in front of the class.
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